The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1887-09-30
Pleasant valley stock Farm.

y SHOrG Instance out AuDufn street, ana
but little over half a mile from the central
part Of our borough, is the farm of Will
liam Disston, known as the Pleasant Val
ley Stock Farm, containing a fraction over
one hundred and one acres. It's present
owner purchased the property of Jacob
Clark, one of our townsmen, paying there
fore the sum of about nine thousand dol
lars. Mr.. Disston. a young man and a
stranger to our people, at the time he made
the purchase, in July Of last year, resided
at Tacony, Pa, but his home now is in
Philadelphia. He bought the farm at
Pleasant Valley for the express purpose of
converting it into a stock farm for breed
ing and raising and training thoroughbred
horses. Extensive building improvements
were of course necessary, and on the six
teenth of last June his head carpenter,
Hartly Thorpe, from Tacony, assisted by
competent workmen, began the task as
signed him. First the old barn was trans
formed and made to look as if it were all
new. Its length is seventy-three feet,
width twenty-six feet, and eighteen feet
posts. On II side are seven stalls, 10x12
feet, well lighted and ventilated, the up
per half of the sliding doors consisting Of
iron grating and over this fine wire netting
to keep out the flies. Opposite the stalls
is an apartment for carriages. Several We
hicles occupied this room at the time of
the reporters visit. Independent of this
handsomely finished building, but adioin-
ing one end, there is being built for the ex-
ercise of horses in Indictment weather, an
enclosed track, or in other words an oc-
ta%gon-shaped barn, with a driveway inside
eighteen feet wide and one-eighth Of a mile
in circuit, and containing twenty thousand
feet of roof surface. The structure rests
upon three substantial brick walls over
two feet high on the lower side. Between
the middle and outer walls are sixty-four
large stalls Which extend around the en-
tire course, and Will be finished in the
same manner as those above described.
On two sides the driveway has a
straight stretch Of one hundred and
ten feet. On the lower or south side the
track passes through a barn sixty feet long
with eighteen feet posts, which will be
used for storing hay. Thousands of loads
of gravel will be required to level up the
track between the long line of walls, and
on the gravel will be laid a coat of loan
soil. The painters and tinsmiths are fol
lowing the carpenters who are not yet half
through with their work. They have got
an all winter JOHN fact there is no telling
when the sound of the saw and hammer
will cease there. Out in the fields behind
the hills, or somewhere beyond reach of
the reporters vision, were grazing thirty
five head of brood mares and colts, all very
valuable. Mr.. Disston's foreman, Michael
Cahill, an experienced and careful horse
man, informed the reporter that he had
forty head under his attention. the most
valuable of all being the California stallion
''Bentoneer'' for which Mr.. Disston gave
five thousand dollars. Mandarin is a rose
wood brown, 153 hands high; took first
premium as 2-year-old at the National
Horse Show. Among the brood mares is
Arbela, a marked bay, ISL hands high and
bred by Robert Bonner, of New York.
Artless is a bay mare, IS hands high, bred
by W. NJ. Rysdyk, Orange county, n. y.
Dolly Star is a black flly, 15k hands, by
Starlight. Jersey Girl, foaled 1878, record
2.47. Mollie b., by General Stanton.
Among the stock for sale is Black Kate,
15I hands high, sired by Gould's Clay.
Buckeye Boy, foaled 1885, sire Ohio Boy.
Straight Line is q gray gelding, foaled in
1885. Tacony is a bay colt, star on fore
head, foaled in June, 1886, sired by We'll
lington. In the catalogue of 1887 a num-
Der of foals are recorded, among them be-
ing a light bay colt sired by Happy
Medium, whose record is 2.39l; bay illy,
by Alecto; bay colt, by Jumps, record
2.21; light bay flly, by Paneoast, record
2.213. Back in the fields are two open
sheds under which the animals, when at
valenee of local storms. One she'd will
shelter sixteen horses. the other seven.
Mr.. Disston prefers not to exhibit his
stock on Sundays. but will do so cheerfully
OF week days, whether visitors be pur-
chasefS or not.